Forget this deinstitutionalization nonsense. We need to go back to nuthouses, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest style. The vast majority of homeless and transient people out there suffer from a variety of mental disorders, with no help or assistance whatsoever, and this is what ends up happening. Get these nuts off the streets, and get them the help they need. Figure out some way to filter out the dangerous ones from the ones that merely have social problems or mild personality disorders that can be treated and allow them to be reintegrated back into society, and keep the dangerous ones locked away.

in fact, you add the tucson guy and the miami face-eating guy, the one thing they all have in common is mental health issues. When was the last time the suspect in one of these horrific national stories wasn't crazy?

spman:Forget this deinstitutionalization nonsense. We need to go back to nuthouses, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest style. The vast majority of homeless and transient people out there suffer from a variety of mental disorders, with no help or assistance whatsoever, and this is what ends up happening. Get these nuts off the streets, and get them the help they need. Figure out some way to filter out the dangerous ones from the ones that merely have social problems or mild personality disorders that can be treated and allow them to be reintegrated back into society, and keep the dangerous ones locked away.

I love public transport, and subways most of all but these types of stories would stimulate my paranoia to the point that I'd be scanning the crowd constantly at any metro station looking for the random nutjob ready to push me or someone else over the edge. Then I'd be all out of position to get on the train. Freaking criminals! They ruin EVERYTHING.

spman:Forget this deinstitutionalization nonsense. We need to go back to nuthouses, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest style. The vast majority of homeless and transient people out there suffer from a variety of mental disorders, with no help or assistance whatsoever, and this is what ends up happening. Get these nuts off the streets, and get them the help they need. Figure out some way to filter out the dangerous ones from the ones that merely have social problems or mild personality disorders that can be treated and allow them to be reintegrated back into society, and keep the dangerous ones locked away.

This would cost money that could be going to a very worthy CEO for an 6th summer home!

INeedAName:I_C_Weener: All subway riders should be armed with their own trains.

Rename them assault rifles and the NRA will support it.

And Dianne Feinstein will write a bill to ban assault trains tomorrow. Carolyn McCarthy will go on TV supporting Feinstein's ban and tell us how badly we need to reduce the passenger capacity of these assault cars to 10. And when she's asked about banning the handrails inside the cars she won't even know what they are.

[...]Figure out some way to filter out the dangerous ones from the ones that merely have social problems or mild personality disorders that can be treated and allow them to be reintegrated back into society, and keep the dangerous ones locked away.

spman:Forget this deinstitutionalization nonsense. We need to go back to nuthouses, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest style. The vast majority of homeless and transient people out there suffer from a variety of mental disorders, with no help or assistance whatsoever, and this is what ends up happening. Get these nuts off the streets, and get them the help they need. Figure out some way to filter out the dangerous ones from the ones that merely have social problems or mild personality disorders that can be treated and allow them to be reintegrated back into society, and keep the dangerous ones locked away.

Amos Quito:spman: Forget this deinstitutionalization nonsense. We need to go back to nuthouses, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest style. The vast majority of homeless and transient people out there suffer from a variety of mental disorders, with no help or assistance whatsoever, and this is what ends up happening. Get these nuts off the streets, and get them the help they need. Figure out some way to filter out the dangerous ones from the ones that merely have social problems or mild personality disorders that can be treated and allow them to be reintegrated back into society, and keep the dangerous ones locked away.

Excellent point. Lock up the crazies.

But how do you spot them?

Easy: Anyone who disagrees with my political opinions.

Easy. Look for the guy who is laying on the hood of your car beating off in the middle of the winter.

I assumed that people being hit by subway trains was extremely rare, but according to New York's MTA, 147 people were struck by subway trains and 47 killed, just last year. Sounds like an inherently dangerous product to me.

I suddenly find myself thinking about the time I saw a homeless man having a fight with a tree. The tree looked like it was doing well and standing up for itself but it just didn't have the speed to land any punches.

Anyway, mental illness is a touchy subject. Mainly because I suspect a lot of the people in the industry are mentally ill themselves, either via natural anomalies or reaction to things.

I work in commercial construction. If I build a sidewalk or walkway with a "ledge" that's more than 12" high, a safety railing is required.

WTF is up with these death platforms at train and subway stations?!?!

Because you deserve at least one sincere answer:

The vast majority of the NYC subway system was built out before any rule like that was likely in place, and between labor costs, the sheer amount of stations, the 24-hour nature of the system making maintenance a right biatch, and station size it's legitimately a big ask of a constantly cash-strapped bureaucracy.

Also, the trains aren't automated, and you're asking a lot - A LOT - of your average subway train conductor to line up the train just so that the doors open at pre-determined spots on the platform.